Trading
UBS triumphs as Citi bounces back
LONDON – UBS retained its top spot in this year's FX Week Best Banks Awards, as Citigroup bounced back to take second spot.
Dresdner joins EBS as prime bank amid rising volumes
LONDON – Dresdner Kleinwort has joined EBS as a prime bank, with the spot broker saying sharp increases in prime volumes demonstrate its ability to withstand challenges from new entrants.
Taking advantage of variance swaps
Loïc Henry, head of structuring at Calyon in Paris, suggests using variance swaps to trade non-directional strategies in an environment of low volatility
Icap sets up Russian service
LONDON & MOSCOW – Icap last month established a rouble rates desk, as the money broker looks to build its capabilities in the rapidly expanding market.
Thailand acts to curb baht speculation
BANGKOK – The Bank of Thailand (BoT) introduced new capital controls last week aimed at clamping down on speculative baht trading.
UBS triumphs as Citi bounces back
LONDON – UBS retained its top spot in this year's FX Week Best Banks Awards, as Citigroup bounced back to take second spot.
Flextrade beta-tests MilanFX system
NEW YORK – Trading technology vendor Flextrade has started beta-testing its block FX trading platform MilanFX, it told FX Week . The vendor becomes the first to roll out a block trading venue for foreign exchange and employ a dark pool of liquidity.
Top Australian banks report bumper FX profits
SYDNEY & MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank (NAB), ANZ and Westpac reported decreased overall profits in the six months ending September 30, reflecting the slower trading climate over the past few months.
Currenex develops Fix spin-off
LONDON – Currenex is launching an open standard Fix-based straight-through processing (STP) protocol for FX, money markets and precious metals this week.
ABN Amro cuts 500 more IT and risk jobs
AMSTERDAM – The Dutch banking group ABN Amro is cutting 500 more jobs from its IT and risk divisions, according to bank officials.
M&A flows – the Aussie angle
Sharon Yeshaya, FX strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York looks at the effect the current M&A cycle will have on the Australian dollar
FXMarketSpace grows with EBS hires
NEW YORK & LONDON – Trading platform FXMarketSpace has poached two staff from rival EBS as part of its buildup ahead of launch next year.
European banks down in Q3
ZURICH, FRANKFURT & AMSTERDAM – European FX results were down for the third quarter, with only Credit Suisse managing to beat last year's figures.
Banks overconfident on yen – CBA
Most banks are over-bullish on the yen, according to Richard Grace, Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Sydney-based senior currency strategist.
Calyon appoints Catalanello to spearhead forex
NEW YORK – Calyon has hired Robert Catalanello as head of FX in New York. Catalanello left Merrill Lynch, where was head of global FX client sales, in September ( FX Week , September 4). His role at Merrill involved developing and implementing the bank's…
Citigroup extends into Cyprus
NICOSIA – Citigroup has extended its forex settlement capabilities to Cyprus with the extension of its direct custody and clearing (DCC) network to the country. The move comes as part of a wider move into Cyprus. It will see the bank offering…
E-commerce source of best forex talent, says market
GLOBAL – Forex staff with e-FX skills and experience are the new recruitment market 'sweet spot', according to banks and headhunters.
FXall posts record daily volumes in October
NEW YORK – Multibank platform FXall last month reported record volumes at $64 billion in a single day, on Tuesday October 31.
European banks down in Q3
ZURICH, FRANKFURT & AMSTERDAM – European FX results were down for the third quarter, with only Credit Suisse managing to beat last year's figures.
Banks build forex in Asia
JAKARTA & SINGAPORE – There have been senior moves at major banks in the Asia-Pacific region this week, as banks look to boost their teams in the region.
US banks report profits down in third quarter
NEW YORK & CHARLOTTE, N CAROLINA – Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America released positive earnings reports for the third quarter, but all failed to profit from their FX businesses.
Hedging ahead of takeover activity
Stephane Knauf, Global Head of FX Structuring at Citigroup in New York, proposes deal-contingent forwards and options to hedge risks ahead of a potential cross-border acquisition
London lords it over continental rivals
London remains the heart and soul of the foreign exchange industry, with its position as the global financial capital of the world confirmed by a report published by International Financial Services, a London-based research firm.
Confidence in dollar resilience growing
Bank of America's (BoA) confidence in the greenback retaining value over the past couple of months is starting to spread to other banks.